Reciprocal interferences of the left ventricular assist device and the aortic valve competence.

Patients suffering from end-stage heart failure tend to have high mortality rates. With growing numbers of patients progressing into severe heart failure, the shortage of available donors is a growing concern, with less than 10% of patients undergoing cardiac transplantation (CTx). Fortunately, the use of left ventricular assist devices (LVADs), a variant of mechanical circulatory support has been on the rise in recent years.

A rare case of takotsubo syndrome within the first day after heart transplantation.

A 39-year-old woman underwent heart transplantation (HTx) for advanced heart failure. The donor was a 36-year-old young woman without past medical history. The first day after HTx, T-waves changes were noted.

Evaluation of silent thrombus after the Fontan operation.

Background: Thromboembolic complications have been noted after the Fontan operation. However, the prevalence of silent events among an adult contemporary population is not known. Noninvasive screening by any method including computed tomography (CT) has been technically limited to date.

Assessment of the accuracy of death certification at two referral hospitals.

Background: Death certification is a vital source of information used in mortality statistics worldwide to assess the health of the general population. This study focuses on the consistency of information between the death reports and the clinical records (files) of deceased patients in two hospitals: the King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH) and King Fahad National Guard hospital (KFNGH) in Saudi Arabia.

Methods: A random sample of the records of 157 deceased patients' registered in 2002 in the two hospitals was retrospectively reviewed independently to determine the underlying cause of death and compare them with death reports.